Photo/Tuchong

Mar. 2 (NBD) -- BrightGene Bio-Medical Technology Co., Ltd. ("BrightGene", 688166.SH), which on February 11 claimed to be able to manufacture the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of Gilead's remdesivir, was censured for disclosing inaccurate information.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange on Sunday said in a statement that BrightGene had not gained any approval from China's drug regulator nor been authorized by the patent owner of remdesivir to make the drug which is found to have significant activity against the novel coronavirus.

Affected by the news, stock of BrightGene plunged by 14.67 percent to close at 53.22 yuan (7.6 U.S. dollars) on Monday, in stark contrast with a 20-percent rise on February 12.

National Business Daily (NBD) noticed that during the February 12-28 period, share prices of the Suzhou-based drug maker surged by 43.61 percent, with an increase of 7.7 billion yuan in market value.

The Shanghai bourse also criticized Wang Zhengye, secretary of BrightGene's board of directors, in a separate notice issued on Sunday.

Wang said to media agencies on February 12 that the company has the capability to mass produce the APIs and preparations of remdesivir, but the claimed "mass production" is proved to be experimental production in a small or medium scale, according to statement of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn